Sequim’s varsity boys wrestlers took a convincing third at the 14th Larry Brown Invitational in Fife on Dec. 10.
The Wolves scored 139.5 points in eight of 14 available wrestling positions while Sunnyside took first with 259 points and Auburn Riverside with 158.5 points.
Sophomore Austin Budd took first at 170 pounds to lead local wrestlers with four wins — a 16-1 tech fall, a 5-2 win, and two pins including one in 2:51 for the championship over Kenny Miller of Auburn Riverside.
“All in all, it was some fantastic wrestling for us,” said Sequim coach Bill Schroepfer. “Obviously, the wrestlers we have are getting the work done to help us stay very competitive.”
Sequim co-captains Grant Pierson (160 pounds) and Adrian Klarich (182) took second place with Pierson losing in the last second of the first round to DeAndre Williams of Washington. He had two pins and a 14-2 win on the day while Klarich lost 6-2 to Donnie Howard of Mercer Island after taking two pins leading up to the finals.
Three wrestlers tied for third place — Ben Newell (138), Craig Baker (145), and Travis Baker (152), and two placed fifth — Chris Puksta (145) and Dylan Perreira (195).
Newell had three pins on the day while the Baker twins had two each.
Schroepfer said Perreira was wrestling up a weight class and he recorded three pins on the day and it was some of the best wrestling he’s seen him do in four years.
Puksta went 3-2 on the day including a pin of teammate Murray Bingham who went 2-2 on the day.
Jamie Schroepfer, 126 pounds, had two pins on the day and AJ Avila, 160, went 0-2 but Bill Schroepfer said he played competitively despite having an injured hand.
Results were unavailable for the girls and junior varsity squads at a tournament in Foss High School.
The Wolves see plenty of wrestling in the coming weeks hosting a dual meet today, Dec. 14, with Olympic and North Kitsap at 5 p.m., and hosting the Olympic League Girls dual at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.
This Friday and Saturday, the team travels to the Hammer Head Invitational at the Kitsap Pavilion.
They return to action after Christmas at the Hawkins Memorial JV Tournament at North Mason High School on Dec. 27 and the North Mason Classic on Dec. 28.
